Sludge removing apparatus



S. 'SHAFEFL JR SLUDGE REMOVING APPARATUS Jan. V14, 1936.

yFiled April 17, 1935 l 2 SheetsSheet 1 gmc/Mio@ wwwa QN n Patented Jan. `14, A1936' UNITED STATES l SLUDGE REMOVING APPARATUS samuel Shafer, Je, Milwaukee, wie., mmm? u Chain Belt Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Alippiieinion-April 17, icas, seria No. muiA s claim. (ci. 21H) This invention relates to sludge removing apv paratus for settling tanks and while for purposes of disclosure it has here been illustrated and will be described in connection with a settling tank for sewage disposal apparatus, it is not necessarily limited to such use but may be employed in various other types of sedimentation tanks. i

In certain well-known forms of sewage disposal apparatus there is provided one or more tanks or receptacles usually of relatively large i size into which the sewage is introduced and the solids contained therein are permitted to settle. 'I'he relatively clear` liquid is drawn on usually adjacent the surface thereof and there is provided within the tank mechanical means for removing the solids which settle tothe tanks bottom, comprising endless belt conveyors having nights or scrapers which travel along the bottom surface of the tank at comparatively slow speeds and scrape the accumulated sludge to a'sludge hopper or sump at one end of the tank.

ciable extent upon vertical surfaces of the tank walls, but if such vertical walls form square cornerswith the tank bottom it is quite dimcult to automatically mechanically remove sludge from such corners. Y i ,I

It is one of the principal objects of the present invention therefore to provide a simple and effective means whereby the sludge deposits may be removed from the corners, and more particularly the corners between the verticallend walls and the noor or bottom oi' the tank, andto this end'such corners instead of being formed as sharp right angles are preferably rounded. or

beveled, there being means provided supple'` mental to the usual sludge removing conveyor nights which operate over the surface of the tank bottom, to sweep across such curved or partly polygonal corners and to move any solids which deposit thereon to a position in which they may be picked up by the regular conveyor nights and conveyed to the sludge hopper.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel details of construction, and the combinations and arrangements of Al'lrising spaced endless chains through the bottom portion ofl the tank taken approximately on the planerindicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows:

Figure 3 is an enlarged Vfragmentary longitudi- 5 having a noor or bottom Il and a vertical end wall l2 which latter isprovided with an outlet duct or passage I3 leading from the tank to the eiliuent passage I4 through which the substan- .tially clear liquid iscarrled oif after the solids 20 initially earriedihereby have settled out. These The solids will not accumulate to any appresolids collect upon the-upper surface of the bottom wall or noor l-I and for the purpose of removing them therefrom there is provided within the tank the sludge removingconveyor I5 com- 25 I6 which are trained around sprockets I'I, I8, I9, and 20 respectively, carried by shafts 2I,"22, 23, and 24 suitably journalled upon the side walls of the. tank. The shaft 2| alsocarries' a sprocket 25 30 around which passes a chain or belt. 26 driven by a sprocketv 21 carried by a shaft 28 which may be driven from any suitable sourcel of power, not shown. The chains I6 haverisidly secured to them-the transverse Scrapers r nights 30 which 35 upon the bottom run of the veyor are moved across the upper surface of the noor li from right to left as viewed in Fig. 1," and scrape the accumulated 'sludge deposits into the sludge hopper or sump 3l. 40 As above indicated, the comer between the vertical end wall I2 and noor II instead of being a right angle corner may be vformed as the arc of a circle as indicated at 32 in Figs. l, 3, and 4,

`and of course, some of the sludge will be de- 45 thereby will of course likewise be rotated and the supplemental sludge removing assembly 33 and 3l will be carried around with it. In the course of such rotation the supplemental sludge removers will assume a position such as that illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, and as the rotation of the shaft is continued in the clockwise direction when the arms 36 reach substantially the position shown in Fig. l the center of gravity of the supplemental sludge removing assembly will pass to the right of the pivots 35, whereupon the said sludge removers will. automatically flop over to substantially the positions shown`inv Fig. lfwith the outer edge'of the flights or scrapers 33 in engagement with the upper portion of the arcuate corner surface 32. As rotation continues the scrapers or flights 33 will be moved across this' surface and because of the pivotal connection 35 they will yieldingly engage therewith continuously under the influence of gravity and will scrape any sludge deposits upon the said surface down to the bottom portion thereof where such deposits may subsequently be picked up by the conveyor flights 30 and moved along to the sludge hopper 3|.

Through the use of these supplemental sludge removers so constructed, *it is not essential that the axis of shaft 23 concide with the center from which the arcuate surface 32 is struck, and While it may be so coincident it is nevertheless preferred to intentionally offset it to some extent as clearly indicated at Fig. 3.

If -the conveyor flights 30 be spaced apart a number of chain links` which is equivalent to` the number of teeth in the sprocket wheel I9 or any multiplethereof, it will of course be possible to so position the supplemental sludge conveyors 33 that they will never interfere with the said flights 30. n the other hand under some circumstances it may not be possible to so position the flights 30, and in such event there may occasionally arise a situation in which a flight 30 is passing around the sprocket I9 at the time when the supplemental scrapers would normally be coming into action. However, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, should such a condition arise, the supplemental flights 33 will merely engage with and rest behind the flight 30 which happens to be passing around sprocket I9 at the time, being held by the said flight 30 out of engagement with the corner surface 32 and upon this particular rotation performing no scraping action. However, the spacing of the flights 30 under such conditions will be such that upon the next succeeding rotation of sprocket I9 the supplemental sludge remover's 33 will not come into action at a time when a flight 30 is passing around the said sprocket and they will function in the manner above described and shownin Fig. 1.

As above indicated, it is notessential that the corners beformed as arcs, or in other words, as sections of polygons having an infinite number .of sides, but, as shown in Fig. 5, the vertical wall v of the invention and therefore it is not wished to be limited to the above disclosure except as may be requiredby the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In sludge removal apparatus for settling tanks of the type having a curved `or beveled corner portion at the juncture of two angularly disposed walls thereof, a movable belt provided with elements arranged to remove sludge from the surface of one of said walls; supporting and guiding means for said belt disposed adjacent said corner; and supplemental sludge removing means carried by said supporting and guiding means, arranged through movement of the latter to remove sludge deposits from said corner 10 portion.

2. In sludge removal apparatus for settling tanks of the type having a curved or beveled corner portion at the juncture of two angularly disposed walls thereof, Aa movable belt provided with elements arranged to remove sludge from the surface of one of said walls; rotatable sup-I porting and guiding means for said belt disposed adjacent said comer; and supplemental sludge removing means pivotally carried by said supporting and guiding means, and arranged to be brought into engagement with, and moved across, said corner portion, to remove sludge deposits therefrom.

3. In sludge removal apparatus for settling tanks of the type having a curved or beveled corner portion at the juncture of two angularly disposed walls thereof, a movable belt provided with elements arranged to removesludge from the surface of one of said walls; a shaft and a wheel carried thereby, for supporting and guiding said belt adjacent said corner; and supplemental sludge removing means pivotally carried by said shaft, and arranged to be brought into engagement with and moved across said corner portion to move sludge accumulations thereon to a position in which they may be acted upon by the sludge removing means of said belt.

4. In sludge removal apparatus for settling tanks of the type having a curved cornerpor- 4u tion at the juncture of two angularly disposed walls thereof, a movable belt provided with elements arranged to remove sludge from "the surface of one of said walls; a shaft-and 'a wheel carried thereby, for supporting and guiding said I5 belt adjacent said curved corner, the axis of said shaft being eccentric with respect to the center of the arc of said curved portion; and supplemental sludge removing means pivotally carried by said shaft, and arranged to be brought into engagement with and moved across said curved corner portion to remove sludge accumulations therefrom.

5. In sludge removal apparatus for settling tanks of the type having an arcuate corner at the juncture of two angularly disposed walls thereof, a movablebelt provided with elements arranged to remove sludge from the surface of one of said walls; a shaft and a wheel carried thereby, for supporting and guiding said belt adjacent said arcuate corner, the axis of said shaft being eccentric with respect'to the center from which said arc is struck; arms carried by said-shaft; and a supplemental sludgeremoving member pivotally connected to said arms eccentrically of the shaft axis, and arranged through rotation of the shaft to be brought into engagement with and sweep across said arcuate corner, whereby sludge accumulations on the latter may bevmoved into the path' of the sludge removing 70 means of said belt.

. SAMUEL SHAFER. Jn. 

